THE LONG WAIT FOR ORIENTATION DAY AND MID-TERM
The next morning we left for our home county. My heart was heavy as I wondered how my gem’s first night had gone. Were her roommates friendly? Did she know where to go or what to do? I had so many questions and wished I could teleport myself to the school so that I could see what was happening!
The trip home was very quiet. We stopped for lunch but nobody was particularly interested in eating. We just wanted to get home and find our gem there. But that was not to be. We got home and the bedroom was empty. There was no shopping, metal box, or brand-new shoes. Our gem was far, far away from home, surrounded by strangers.
The next few days were tough. I would go to work and daydream about my gem, thinking about how the first, second, and third days might have gone. My gem’s sibling asked about her every evening. I would go to the bedroom just to confirm that my gem was truly gone. Everyone I met would ask how day one went, and I gave a standard answer that went something like this. “It went well and we left our gem in good hands.” Meanwhile, however, my heart was breaking. I missed my gem so much.
Remember I had the class teacher’s number? I tried hard not to call him. I didn’t want to be that parent who always asked how her child was doing, so I held on for a week. That was a very long week! I finally called him a week later, and he promised to find my gem so we could chat. I waited eagerly, literally taking the phone everywhere with me. Sadly, he did not call back that day.
I was heartbroken and angry with the teacher for not finding her. Later on, however, I found out that finding a child in that school was not as easy as it sounded.
The next day, as I went about my business, the phone rang. I was over the moon! It was the teacher! I hung up and called back, eager to hear my gem’s voice. What a joy it was to hear that she was eating, sleeping, and going to class just like everyone else! We talked for a while and then I promised to call again before the orientation day.
I waited another week and then called again. This time the teacher promised to find her that day. I must add here – that teacher was a blessing! She called in the evening and we talked briefly. She sounded tired. I was worried.
One week later, orientation day came! Yippee! We left home in good time, hoping to get to the meeting in good time. Unfortunately, though, we took a route that cost us a whole hour on the road! I began to worry that the meeting would end and our gem would not know what to do if we were not there in time! That didn’t happen, of course. Such meetings are designed to last as long as possible!
We finally got there and found the meeting still going on. We sat down and listened, but my mind was not on what was being said. I just wanted to see my gem! Finally, the meeting ended after reminders about discipline and the extra amount of money we were supposed to pay for development. I didn’t care. It would soon be time to see her!
Just before the students came out, we were asked to go to the tents where our children’s class teachers were standing. “This is taking too long!” I thought to myself. We went to our tent, proceeded to select our class representative, saw what the class teacher looked like, and then waited.
The girls appeared. Some looked very sleepy. Others looked like they had not eaten for days. Others had huge backpacks most likely full of dirty clothes. One by one they came to the tents. We watched parents giving their kids giant bear hugs as tears flowed freely. I couldn’t wait to hug my gem.
We waited. There was no sign of her. We waited some more.
Then we saw her. I was over the moon as I ran to hug her. She looked so tired and hungry. We shed tears as we hugged. I didn’t want to let go of her. Why did I send her to this horrible place?
We quickly said hello to the class teacher, walked to the car, and prepared to leave as my gem helped herself to the snacks I had carried. In between bites, she told us how her first three weeks away from home had been. I felt a rush of sadness as I listened to her stories. It sounded like a horrible place! What was I thinking, sending her away from home to a place where she was struggling?
We headed home for a precious five days of mid-term. I intended to make the most of every minute. I didn’t even mind the bagful of smelly clothes. My gem was home.